


General Concepts FAQ

by Slaskia



Series: Astral Aligned Continuity FAQ [2]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alien Flora & Fauna, Diseases, FAQ, Gen, Illnesses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-06-14 18:57:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15395280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slaskia/pseuds/Slaskia
Summary: A document detailing the various flora, fauna and ailments of my Transformer continuity.





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> All of these I consider ‘free to borrow’: in other words, other writers can use these if they wish. Just be sure to give credit on the concept!

**Index**

 

Chapter 1 – Introduction, index and update notes

Chapter 2  - Ailments

  * Cerulean Fever
  * Toidysis
  * Wing Rot



Chapter 3 – Fauna:  Energon Leech

Chapter 4 - Fauna:  Ticks

Chapter 5 - Flora:  Sky Drop

 

* * *

 

**Update Notes:**

1-9-2019 : Added Chapter 4:  Ticks.

2-18-2019:  Added to Chap 2:  Wing Rot

3-20-2019: Added Chapter 5:  Sky Drop


	2. Ailments and Diseases

**Cerulean Fever**

Caused by a rare, but very deadly, virus.  It has been known to wipe out whole groups of Cybertronians if proper quarantine and cleaning protocols are not followed at onset.  If left untreated, it has a ninety-five percent mortality rate.  Infection is caused primarily by contact with inflected fluid.  Contact with items and surfaces that recently were touched by said fluid can also cause infection.

First indicator of Cerulean Fever is a rapid increase in body temperature.  This fever can cause secondary symptoms such as chills and hallucinations.  The infected also becomes extremely weak and hydrophobic.  In mid and advanced stages of infection, their bodies start to ‘bleed’ externally through any crack, seal and port in their frames.  This fluid is light to dark blue in color and gives the condition its name.

There is no cure for Cerulean Fever, only the treatment and management of the symptoms.  Intake of fluids with coolant properties is critical to keep the fever within safe limits.  During the mid and advanced stages, immersion in water is needed, as the virus becomes inert upon contact with it, thus preventing further infection.  If there is not enough water available for full emersion, frequent washing is needed.

To prevent the virus from spreading, the patient must be quarantined, separated from everyone but medical personnel.  Personnel treating the patient must wash themselves frequently and keep themselves sealed.  Those that have wounds or imperfections that prevent a full seal must avoid contact with the patient.  Once the patient has recovered, or expired, any object they were in contact with must be immersed or thoroughly washed with water.  Porous items, such as sponges, must be destroyed.

First mentioned:  Intervention

* * *

**Toidysis**  

Caused by a virus that is typically transmitted via the bite of an insect, like a tick.  There are many different strains and almost all of them can result in death if not caught and treated early enough. 

First sign of the condition is a tingling or numbing sensation in the bitten area as the virus attacks the sensor net, disabling it.  As the virus progresses through the body, it starts to attack the neural net in the previously numbed area, gradually destroying it. Eventually resulting in full paralysis of the affected area.  The virus will continue to progress through the body, until it is completely paralyzed, resulting in death.  Depending on the strain, the rate of progression can take Vorns or take as little as a couple of Joors.  There had been scattered reports of a strain that takes only a couple of cycles to kill a victim, but it has yet to be confirmed. 

Curing Toidysis is simple in concept, but difficult to execute without damaging the affected individual further.  It requires an intense, prolonged simulation of the sensor net.  The intensity needs to be potent enough to not only delay further progression of the virus, but to destroy it.  Unfortunately, many drugs and other methods have a high risk of damaging the patient if exposed to the treatment for prolonged periods of time.  The risk, however, is often considered worth it, considering the alternative is death.  Patients that are successfully treated often must go through extensive repairs and replacements to be restored to their full function.

First mentioned:  Prisoner

* * *

**Wing Rot**  

Wing rot is a condition where a spot on a wing starts to gradually decay.  The cause of the affliction is unknown, but current belief is that it is due to a combination of poor maintenance and infection, as rates are higher among bots with both.  As the name implies, it only affects winged frames, particularly seekers. 

First indication of wing rot is the area starts to feel unusually soft.  Squishy even.  This is followed by the color nanites dying off, leaving only bare, unprotected metal.  Deep pits then start to form, resulting in the metal looking and feeling like a sponge.  Finally, the affected metal starts to drop off in chunks, leaving gaping holes. 

This condition is similar in function as another, called ‘mesh rot’, which can affect all frame types.  However, while ‘mesh rot’ has multiple, but treatable, causes, wing rot does not.  Wing rot has no known affective treatment or cure.  While not contagious, once it starts, it will continue to spread.  The only way to stop it’s progress to amputate the affected area, otherwise there is a great risk of it spreading to the rest of the frame.  If it reaches the spark chamber, death is certain. 

Some medics speculate wing rot is caused by a yet undiscovered virus, or perhaps even a parasite.  No evidence of either have been found thus far.


	3. Fauna:  Energon Leech

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted in the 'Astral Aligned Continuity FAQ'.

One of native life forms on Cybertron that are considered ‘vermin’.  They can live in almost any region of Cybertron, provide there is enough energon and loose metal to sustain them, though they particularly enjoy scrap yards due to the multitude of places they can hide. 

Fully formed leeches hunt via both sound and vibration, making them difficult to avoid.  They are natural enemies of the scraplets. 

Leeches have multiple life stages. 

Larva

Appearance:  a tiny, blue glowing worm.

Only stage of their life that truly fits the ‘leech’ name.  They sit dormant inside a Queen leeches’ brood chamber until they are injected into a feeding host.  At that point, they awaken and start to consume as much energon as possible, until the host is dry.  They then migrate to various empty chambers in the hosts body, such as the tank, to start the next phase. 

Cocoon

Appearance:  Smooth, oval-shaped egg.  Initially glows blue, but over time turns a dark grey.

When a larva is done feeding, it will find a suitable open space in the host body to form a cocoon in.  After a period of several joors, a newly formed leech emerges. 

Leech

Appearance:  snake-like.  Mandibles thick and strong.  Armor plating varies depending on size and age.

When a leech first emerges from their cocoon, their first instinct is to eat metal to provide the metal needed for their armor and to further grow in size.  The first source of this is usually their now dead host.  Once there is nothing left of the host, they feed on whatever they can find, consuming both energon and metal.  At this stage, they have jaws capable of tearing metal and crushing energon crystals.

Bigger leeches particularly like to hunt scraplets, as they are source of both.  They are also a threat to sparklings and minicons.  Other than that, they are generally considered more of a ‘nuisance’ then a threat, as they help keep the more dangerous scraplet population down. It’s when they get big enough to take down adults that they become a threat again. When a leech reaches at about forty feet in length, it stops eating and changes again. 

Queen

Appearance:  Snake-like.  Mandibles thin and lined with hooked teeth, designed for gripping.  Blue bio-lights down the sides.

Queen Leeches are the most dangerous of the leech life stage.  Nearing the end of its life, it goes into nesting mode, where its sole purpose is to find feeding hosts for the next generation of leeches.  It builds a large nest out of scrap, then it patrols a set area around said next, looking for suitable hosts.  When it finds one, it attacks, wrapping it’s coils around the victim and attempting to bite.

If it lands a bite, it pierces the victim’s body with a probe and injects not only a small batch of brood into the victim’s lines, but a powerful sedative that will put the victim asleep.  Failing a bite, it will constrict the victim around the neck until it falls conscious.  Either way, once the victim is subdued it will drag it back to the nest.  If not found quickly, the victim will die of energon loss.  When enough hosts are found and stowed, it turns itself into a host.  This behavior also occurs if the nest is suddenly lost or disturbed.  In this way in ensures at least some of it’s brood makes it to the next life stage.

When a potential host is being particularly difficult or manages to become a threat to the queen’s life, the queen will become desperate.  If it lands a bite in this state, it will inject a large amount of brood along with the sedative, in a last-ditch effort to subdue it’s victim.


	4. Fauna: Ticks

Parasitic lifeforms on Cybertron, ticks were the scourge of many Cybertronian during the earliest days.  In modern times, they are usually only an issue in the few remaining wilderness areas and, occasionally, run down sections of a city.  They often lay dormant, until they detect a suitable feeding host close by. 

Ticks function much like their Earthen namesake, feeding on energon and other fluids of unsuspecting hosts.  They also come in many different varieties, some more ‘invasive’ than others:  some are content to hide under armor and in seams, other’s will go into any unsealed port or intake. There are a couple of subspecies that have barbs or spines, making them especially difficult to remove. 

Like Earth ticks, they can be carriers of various illnesses, such as the toidysis virus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May refine/add more to this one later on.


	5. Flora:  Sky Drop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will likely expand more upon this concept.

Sky Drops are delicate crystalline plants that are known for it’s sweet, energon rich berries.  Their stems and leaves resemble that of the Weeping Willow and are slightly translucent.  The berries are tear dropped shaped and sky blue in color.  Canyon varieties also have special shaped leaves that enable the berry to glide or float on the canyon winds when they drop off.  

These plants favor locations with minimal exposure to sunlight.  As a result, they are most commonly found in canyons and steep mountain ranges, where they would be in shadow for most of the day.  Both types of habitats make them especially difficult to harvest in the wild and botanists have had minimal success growing them domestically.  Compounding this, Sky Drop berries were at their sweetest just before they drop off the plant, after which, due to the increased exposure to sunlight, they start to become bitter.  It is due to these factors that they are considered a delicacy and fetch a high price on the markets. 

Flyer frames, especially seekers, are usually the only frame types that could reach these plants safely, especially the canyon varieties.  Many grounders have tried to reach them on their own, with varying results, usually failure.  Enough grounders have perished making the attempt, that some seeker circles have nicknamed the plant ‘Grounder’s Folly’.  A grounder that succeeds, however, usually earn their respect. 

Sadly, due to over-harvesting, development and the war, Sky Drops are extremely rare in the modern era. 


End file.
